Lavontay White | Homicide Watch Chicago

Second and third men charged with murders of 2-year-old Lavontay White and uncle Lazarec Collins

Jeff Mayes — Sat, 25 Feb 2017 11:41:38 -0600

Doniel Harris | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.

Two more men have been charged with the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old Lavontay White and his uncle, Lazarec Collins, an attack that also left a pregnant woman wounded on Valentine’s Day in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Bond was denied Friday for Doniel Harris, 19, who faces one count of murder, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office.

On Saturday, bond was denied for Jeremy Ellis, 19, charged with murder and attempted murder, the state’s attorney’s office said.

Jeremy Ellis | Chicago Police

Devon Swan, 26, was ordered held without bond last week after he was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

The three are charged with the shooting deaths of 2-year-old Lavontay and the 26-year-old Collins, authorities said. Collins’ 21-year-old girlfriend, who is 4 months pregnant, was wounded in the attack.

At a press conference Friday, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said he hopes the arrests made in Lavontay’s homicide spark questions by the public.

“Our hope is that, through these types of incidents, we as a city start to ask the questions that need to be asked. Questions like ‘Why are these people allowed to cycle through the criminal justice system? Where are our state legislators? And when are they going to pass the laws necessary to send a message to these individuals that it’s not OK to commit these crimes on our streets?” Johnson said.

Devon Swan | Chicago Police

The three victims were in a car in the 2300 block of South Kenneth, with Collins’ girlfriend driving, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Feb. 14 when the shootings occurred.

As they were driving, a blue Chevrolet Spark, occupied by Swan and three others, pulled up alongside and two people inside opened fire, prosecutors said. The car is owned by Swan’s girlfriend, who loaned it to him after he dropped her off at work an hour earlier, prosecutors said.

Collins was shot five times in his abdomen, back and legs; Lavontay was shot once in the back of the head, prosecutors said. The bullet eventually exited through his cheek. Both were pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

Lazarec Collins (left) and Lavontay White | Facebook

Collins’ girlfriend, who was streaming live to Facebook at the time of the shooting, was shot once in the abdomen, authorities said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Family members initially said she had lost her unborn child, but later said they baby would survive.

Prosecutors said the shooting was retribution for the shooting death of one of Swan’s friends, which the suspects believed Collins was responsible for.

At least one more suspect is still being sought, police said.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 19 dead in city's most violent week, including girls 11 and 12; and 2-year-old boy

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 22 Feb 2017 16:00:28 -0600

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Sun-Times file photo

At least 19 people died from violence in one of the deadliest weeks of the year across Chicago. The victims included an 11-year-old girl caught in crossfire while playing near a South Side school; a 12-year-old girl shot while sitting in a relative's van; and a 2-year-old boy killed when gang members fatally shot his uncle.

The 19 deaths, including the three young children, were the highest weekly total of the year so far in Chicago, matching the total from the week of Jan. 15-21. At least five homicides were reported in one day twice last week.

“One victim of one shooting is one too many, but when innocent children are caught in the crossfire of gun violence and young people have their childhood stolen by stray bullets, our consciences are shaken and our hearts are broken,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement Tuesday.

The 11-year-old girl died at Comer Children’s Hospital on Tuesday morning after being struck in the head by a stray bullet on Saturday night. Takiya Holmes was sitting in a van in the 6500 block of South King Drive when she was struck by what police believe was a stray bullet, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. She died about 8 a.m Tuesday after being on life support since the shooting.

Takiya was sitting next to her 3-year-old brother in the back seat—her mother and aunt were in the front seats—when gunfire erupted about 7:40 p.m. in the 6500 block of South King Drive in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, authorities said.

On Wednesday, police said a 19-year-old man was charged with the murder, and said Antwan C. Jones opened fire because he saw people he didn’t think belonged in the neighborhood. Police said he surrendered after being identified by witnesses. Joes as ordered held without bond.
Kanari Gentry-Bowers, a 12-year-old struck by a stray bullet as she played at her school playground on Saturday night, died Wednesday after four days on life support at Stroger Hospital.
Bowers was on the basketball court at Henderson Elementary, on the corner of 57th and Wolcott around 7 p.m. Saturday when gunshots rang out. She was struck in the head, and family members said in the ensuing hours that emergency responders and doctors revived her at least three times after her pulse all but disappeared. She died at 3:48 p.m. Wednesday. No arrests have been made in the case.
Two-year-old Lavontay White and 26-year-old Lazarec Collins were killed, and the boy’s aunt wounded in an attack Tuesday afternoon in North Lawndale that was partially captured on Facebook Live. The woman was streaming video at the time of the shooting, which occurred in an alley in the 2300 block of South Kenneth Avenue.
The three were in a car in the alley about 1:30 p.m. when another vehicle drove past and someone got out, pulled a weapon and fired shots, according to police. The toddler and Collins were both shot in the head. They were taken to Stroger Hospital, where they died. The woman and her unborn child were expected to survive.

Three men have been charged with murder in the case, and police say they are still looking for at least one more suspect. Bond was denied for Doniel Harris, 19; Jeremy Ellis, 19; and Devon Swan, 26. Prosecutors say the three were targeting Collins as retribution for an earlier slaying for which they believed he as responsible.
A 33-year-old man was shot to death Saturday afternoon in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. Eddie Thomas was sitting in a vehicle at 3:33 p.m. in the 4900 block of West Van Buren when someone in a silver sedan pulled up and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Thomas suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his body and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died at 5:11 p.m., authorities said. He lived nearby in the same neighborhood.
A 31-year-old man died early Saturday, one day after he was shot in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. Travis Joseph was on a porch at 6:23 p.m. Friday in the 1400 block of West 71st Street when anther male walked up, pulled out a weapon and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Joseph was shot in the chest and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 4:11 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting.
A 36-year-old man was killed and two others wounded in a shooting early Saturday in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. About 4:30 a.m., officers responded to a call of a person shot in the 4500 block of South Wood, police said. Officers found John Gonzalez, who lived in the same block, with a gunshot wound to his head being put into a vehicle by several friends, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was transported to University of Illinois Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 32-year-old man and a 26-year-old man also wounded in the shooting took themselves to Stroger Hospital, police said. The older man was shot in both legs and the younger in his right hand. They were both in good condition. Witnesses were uncooperative with police and no one was in custody.
Two men were shot, one fatally, early Saturday, also in the Back of the Yards, according to police. Just before 3 a.m., officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 5000 block of South Ashland found 23-year-old Willie Cooks in a building with a gunshot wound to his back, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Cooks, of Roseland, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3 a.m. Officers also found a 28-year-old man nearby who had run away and was shot in the right leg. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
A 20-year-old man died and a 60-year-old woman was wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood. Iveill Hudson was standing on the corner about 1:45 p.m. in the 5700 block of West Chicago and talking on a cellphone when someone walked up and fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
Hudson, of the Austin neighborhood, was shot in the abdomen and leg, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 5:04 p.m., authorities said. The woman was shot in the leg and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, but was later transferred to Stroger, police said. Her condition had stabilized.
A man walking to a bus stop with his girlfriend Thursday morning was gunned down in the Avondale neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Officers responding to reports of a person shot at 5:41 a.m. found him lying in the street in the 4000 block of West Melrose, according to police. Maximiliano “Max” Arroyo was pronounced dead at the scene. A police source said the victim was walking to the bus stop with his girlfriend when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside asked them if they had gang affiliations, then opened fire. The girlfriend was not injured.
A man was shot and killed Wednesday night in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Brent Johnson, 27, was standing in an alley in the 3000 block of West Marquette about 8:45 p.m. when someone in a black car opened fire, hitting him in the head and groin, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
Five people were shot—three fatally—Wednesday afternoon in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The shooting happened at 2:58 p.m. in the 3900 block of South Albany, according to police. The group was inside a home when a male suspect walked in and began shooting.
Filogonio Rivera-Camacho, 20; and Emmanuel Camacho, 18, were both shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police and the medical examiner's office. They lived on the same block as the shooting. Julian Miller, 19, was shot in the torso and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 3:27 p.m.

Another 19-year-old man was shot on the side of his body and was taken to Mount Sinai, police said. A second 18-year-old man was shot in his torso and was taken to Stroger Hospital. Both were in critical condition. A police source said the shooting appeared to be related to drugs. One of the victims ran from the home after the shooting and into a nearby business to call authorities, police said.
An Amtrak police officer has been charged with first-degree murder after shooting a 25-year-old man while on-duty. LaRoyce Tankson, 31, turned himself into police late Thursday in connection with the shooting of Chad Robertson, 25, near Union Station Feb. 8. The 25-year-old Minnesota man died a week after being shot.
Robertson was pronounced dead at 11:20 a.m. Wednesday at Stroger Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Thursday found he died of a gunshot wound to the back, and his death was ruled a homicide. On Wednesday, a federal lawsuit was filed on his behalf against the rail agency and the unnamed officer who shot him about 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 8 near Jackson and Canal. Chicago Police have said Robertson was unarmed.
A man was shot to death early Wednesday while driving on Lake Shore Drive in the North Side Lincoln Park neighborhood. Jorge Navarro Jr., 25, was driving a Lexus southbound about 3:45 a.m. in the 2300 block of North Lake Shore Drive when another vehicle pulled alongside and someone inside shot him in the chest, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The Lexus then crashed into the center median. Two other people in the care were not injured. Navarro was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:37 a.m. less than an hour later. An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A 62-year-old man who was shot to death Tuesday afternoon in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side. Eddie Wade was sitting in a parked vehicle about 2:40 p.m. in the 3400 block of West Walnut when a dark-colored Jeep pulled alongside and someone inside opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner's office. He suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:55 p.m. An autopsy showed Wade, who lived in Chicago Lawn, died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A South Side man was shot dead inside a South Shore neighborhood store on Tuesday morning. Just before noon, someone walked up to James Johnson when he went into the store in the 2000 block of East 71st Street and shot him in the chest, according to police. Johnson, 23, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died at 12:38 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday morning in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. Malike Ellis was riding in a vehicle around 9:30 a.m. in the 4100 block of West 18th Street when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Ellis, who lived in the same neighborhood, was shot in the chest and the driver took him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died minutes later, authorities said.

Man charged with fatal shootings of 2-year-old Lavontay White and his uncle Lazarec Collins; two others sought

Jeff Mayes — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 12:16:23 -0600

By SAM CHARLES
Chicago Sun-Times

Devon Swan | Chicago Police

As Judge Peggy Chiampas reminded the court how young 2-year-old Lavontay White Jr. was when he was fatally shot earlier this week, along with his uncle Lazarec Collins, a Chicago Police officer seated in the press area of Cook County bond court scoffed and shook his head.

Chiampas ordered Devon Swan, 26, to be held without bond Saturday afternoon, after he was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder for the Valentine’s Day shooting deaths of Lavontay and his 26-year-old uncle in the 2300 block of South Kenneth. Collins’ 21-year-old girlfriend, who is 4 months pregnant, was injured in the attack.

The judge added that, under state law, the shooting qualifies “as brutal, heinous, wanton cruelty.”

Prosecutors told the judge the shooting was retribution for the shooting death of one of Swan’s friends, a killing he believed Collins was responsible for.

Lazarec Collins (left) and Lavontay White | Facebook

The three were in a car, with Collins’ girlfriend driving, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when the shooting occurred.

Collins was shot five times in the abdomen, back and legs; Lavontay was shot once in the back of the head, prosecutors said. The bullet eventually exited through his cheek. Both were pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

Collins’ girlfriend was streaming live to Facebook at the time of the shooting and was shot once in the abdomen, authorities said. She was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Before Swan’s hearing in bond court Saturday, police officials said more suspects are being sought and the investigation continues.

“This is a very active, very active, ongoing investigation,” Area Central Detectives Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan said. “We’re looking for more people who are responsible for this.”

Prosecutors said Swan had told several people about his involvement in the shooting, and also gave a videotaped statement to police.

His arrest was due in no small part to Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina, who helped connect witnesses with investigators, police said.

“We all know that there’s work to be done yet to rebuild trust between police and community, but our fractured relationship cannot keep us from talking to each other, helping each other and working with each other to take killers off the street,” Pfleger said.

Swan was on parole at the time of his arrest, according to prosecutors.

Police stand near a car in an alley between Kostner and Kenneth avenues while investigating the fatal shootings in North Lawndale. | Andy Grimm/Sun-Times

Since 2008, he has been convicted of several crimes, including unlawful use of a weapon, armed robbery and drug possession, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. Most recently, he was released on parole in April 2016 after serving time for drug possession and violating electronic monitoring.

Addressing reporters, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson again called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would stiffen sentencing for repeat gun offenders.

“The fact of the matter is these repeat gun offenders have to get the message that we won’t stand for it,” Johnson said. “Our elected officials, our state legislators have to get the message we won’t stand for it.”

While a lack of economic opportunity has long been tied to violent crime, Johnson said that personal accountability plays an even bigger role.

“I recognize that in a lot of these impoverished areas, we have to do a better job of having economic support poured into them. We do. We owe that to them,” Johnson said.

“The long-term solution is the economic support, but right now here today, when I go into this mother’s home, she’s not saying, ‘Superintendent, get this guy a job.’ She’s saying, ‘Superintendent, stop this killing in my neighborhood,’ so that’s what we’re going to do.”

2-year-old Lavontay White, 26-year-old Lazarec Collins die in what police call 'targeted' shooting in North Lawndale

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 11:45:56 -0600

By SAM CHARLES, ANDY GRIMM and JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times

Police stand near a car in an alley between Kostner and Kenneth avenues while investigating a fatal shooting in North Lawndale. | Andy Grimm/Sun-Times

Two-year-old Lavontay White and 26-year-old Lazarec Collins were killed, and the boy's aunt wounded in an attack Tuesday afternoon in North Lawndale that was partially captured on Facebook Live.

The woman was streaming video at the time of the shooting, which occurred in an alley in the 2300 block of South Kenneth Avenue.

The three were in a car in the alley about 1:30 p.m. when another vehicle drove past and someone got out, pulled a weapon and fired shots, according to Chicago Police.

The toddler and Collins were both shot in the head. They were taken to Stroger Hospital, where the toddler died about 2:43 p.m., authorities said. Collins lived in the Little Village neighborhood.

Lazarec Collins (left) and Lavontay White | Facebook

The 25-year-old woman was shot in the abdomen, and was listed in fair condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. Her unborn child survived.

After the shooting, detectives walked the alley, pointing occasionally at their maroon four-door sedan, which had several bullet holes visible in the rear, passenger-side window. The car seemed to have veered into a fence, coming to rest partially in a vacant lot.

At a press conference across from the crime scene, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the 26-year-old Collins, a “documented gang member,” was the target of the gunman, who fired “several shots” into the vehicle.

He added, "We believe that this was a targeted shooting, so these people were looking for him."

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that the 26-year-old had been released from prison about six months ago, and has been arrested several times for charges that included burglary and armed robbery.

The Facebook Live video, which was viewed more than 100,000 times on Facebook in the first three hours after the shooting, shows a young woman in a black hoodie filming as she sits in the passenger seat of a car, smiling and singing along to a rap song with the driver, a young man in a white hoodie and baseball cap.

As she pans the camera phone back and forth inside the car, the head of the child in the back seat is briefly visible.

The woman’s cheery expression changes as she peers outside the car and to her left, shortly before the crack of a gunshot and an explosion of glass. The woman tumbles out the door of the car and sprints through a lot, an alley, and a doorway, screaming for help.

The woman bolts into a house, and the screen goes dark, but the audio continues. The woman says she’s been shot in the stomach, but doesn’t want to go to the hospital.

“I can’t go to the hospital,” she says. “They’ll send me to jail.”

On Monday, the woman had posted a picture of the red car, captioned “fresh car wash get new tires still trying to sell it doe.” Beneath the photo, more than one person chastised her for giving valuable intelligence to her boyfriend’s enemies, or “opps.”

“U posted this pick yo boyfriend opps saw it and they got on y’all ass,” wrote one poster. “sad but if you f – – – wit the streets or street people you gotta be smarter young one.”

Sounding a familiar call to action, Johnson said tougher gun laws are needed to abate the violence in the city.

“We just cannot afford to have our children shot down for something they had no involvement in,” Johnson said.

He said police have video and a license plate from the shooting, but no arrests had been made as of Thursday morning.

"I hope our legislative partners are looking right now," Johnson said. "We have yet another innocent child in Chicago that can lose their life over senseless gun violence."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses for Lavontay.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire and Homicide Watch Chicago contributing